


Blooming Hope

by sokkvabekkr (karmclan)



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drabble, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I Made Myself Cry, Love Confessions, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, fluff at the end, kinda long for a drabble but w/e, listen i want him to be happy but also i have to write angst or i will die, me: you want lif with ptsd? you want lif with flashbacks and nightmares?, my friends: please no, ohhh boy i made this one MEGA sad, protip: listen to the love theme from book 3 while reading this, this ends happily i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22592530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karmclan/pseuds/sokkvabekkr
Summary: How cruel you are, he thought, to bring me here, Summoner.
Relationships: Líf/Summoner | Eclat | Kiran
Kudos: 60





	Blooming Hope

**Author's Note:**

> i love you so much lif im sorry i made you suffer in this fic but i had to. i had to. got this idea after replaying book 3.
> 
> summoner is gender neutral here!

After his death at the hands of the Order of Heroes, Lif never thought he could have another chance at life. But when you summoned him with the Breidablik, he had that chance.

You had thought he would be happy to be back in Askr, to be back in a familiar place, but all it did was torture him day after day. To see that world’s Alfonse happily interacting with Sharena, to see the growth and livelihood of Askr, to see you, alive and unharmed, it ate away at him. 

He failed to protect you, failed to protect Sharena, and his homeland. The guilt wracked at him every day he was there. His Askr, devoid of any signs of life. His Sharena and Summoner, dead and gone. Those flashes of memories from his old life would glimpse at him every night, and end in their deaths. 

_ How cruel you are, _ he thought, after a particularly hard night,  _ to bring me here, Summoner. _

It began to get to a point where he was silently pleading for death, yet again. All he wanted was to rest. He failed in his plan, and he shouldn’t have been here. He should have been dead. But you had brought him here, and he began to feel a slight resentment towards you. Even that emotion felt complicated, as he felt a love towards his Summoner, back when he was alive. He couldn’t bring himself to truly hate you, but why? Why had you summoned him? Why would the gods and fate not allow him to rest? After all he had said and done, all he wanted was to find you, and his Sharena, and meet them again.

He knew you were a sharp person, so you’d be able to see the pain in his eyes. The way he slightly winced every time Sharena laughed. The way even your mere presence would make his body tense. 

You wanted so bad to talk to him, to assure him that it would be okay. That now that you knew what would happen, you’d protect everything you held dear. You knew he had no desire to talk to Alfonse, as he somewhat loathed the younger, idealistic clone of him. Sharena was far too painful to speak to, but you…

You called for Lif one day, and asked him to patrol with you. He had no desire to, but he found he was weak to you, and you only. Your eyes pleading as you asked, and he reluctantly agreed.

Walking through these castle corridors felt so familiar to him. The feel, the smell, the hustle and bustle of maids, butlers, and the like through the castle. He could feel the quizzical stares he was getting, but paid them no mind as he followed you. 

Your patrol took you to a field of flowers, which swayed in the Spring breeze and shined in the sunlight. Lif recognized this place and those flowers -- Sharena’s favorite. The sight nearly became too much, the usually stoic and cold general of the dead nearly broke down. He couldn’t take it. Even more so than his body and soul, his mind was wracked with scars. A young Sharena and her brother, playing in this field, without a care in the world. Alfonse wreathing a flower crown out of her favorites for a birthday gift. Sharena running to this place when she was upset, and Alfonse comforted her. Sharena dying in the fight against Hel.

_ Save yourself. _

He could feel his breathing getting out of control, his vision getting starry. No matter how he tried to discard the identity of Prince Alfonse of Askr, he was always him, through and through. From his own words, he could not wash away his past. 

“...Lif?” your voice sounded warbled and distant, and Lif shook his head to bring himself out of the pit of his memories. 

“Yes, Summoner?” he said, his voice quiet.

“Come sit. We can keep watch from here.” 

Lif obliged, sitting and looking up at the sky. Blue and clear. Nothing like his Askr. 

_ His Askr, dead and gone. The ground torn up, the sky gray. Dried blood everywhere. _

He couldn’t take much more, his mind flashing the worst of his memories. He was hanging by a thread, before he would lose himself in his mind and emotions. 

“Lif?” you called.

He turned to look at you, cheeks pink, a bright and happy smile, as you took his hand gently. 

“It’s okay.”

With those words, he broke. His facade crumbled, and he began to weep heavy tears. It had been so long since he cried, since he grieved the loss of all he loved. Sharena, his Summoner, his family.. the heroes he had gotten to know. Everyone had died… and yet he lived. And he died, his plans having failed, everything he ever did, a futile effort. 

He wept into your chest, and you held him close. You knew he was about to break, you were as sharp as ever. That thought only made him cry harder, he knew you so well. He loved you, wanted to protect you, but in the end, he found himself staring at your lifeless corpse. 

“I’m sorry..” he sobbed.

“I know, you tried your hardest. You tried so hard to protect me, because you loved me, didn’t you?” 

He looked into your eyes, gentle and kind. His summoner was nearly identical to yours, kind, caring, with a slight hot streak and temper at times. .You put your best into everything and persisted until the very end…

Lif found himself being comforted as he sobbed, cried, and sniffled, relief flooding his body as all those pent up emotions were finally released with those tears. 

You quietly stayed with him, petting and stroking his midnight blue hair, feeling the warmth of his body and his hands wrapped around your waist. You loved him so dearly, and wanted him to know, there was hope. In his last moments, he must have felt despair over everything, even more so as he had failed to kill you.There was hope in this Askr, as in many other dimensions, that you had defeated Hel. That you stopped her nefarious plans and saved Askr.

And that is what you told him.

He looked at you, eyes wet. “Hel was defeated? You.. you stopped her?”

You nod. “We did.”

Lif pulled himself away, his mind swirling. Hel defeated, Askr saved, and you-

“You love me?” He asked in disbelief. 

“That I do,” you replied, taking his hand in yours. “I know how hard it must be. Seeing yourself and Sharena, and me, and feeling wracked with guilt. And I’m sorry I didn’t approach you sooner. I figured you just preferred to be by yourself. But I didn’t know you were so consumed with this.”

“I find myself… still having hope in you. In my younger self. Even if I do hate how idealistic he may be sometimes, it gives me hope… to know that you are still here. That Askr is here, and Hel is dead.”

“Mmmhm. And I’ll never give up.”

“Summoner.. I…” he steadied his breathing. “I failed to protect you. I know that. But this time, now that I may have another chance, I’ll fight for you. I won’t let the Alfonse of this world make the same mistake. I’ll keep fighting.. for your sake, and your sake only. You may be gone in my world, and I never told you how I felt before your demise, but now...” he put his hand against your cheek. “You’re here. You’re here, and you’re alive..” he took a deep breath. “And I love you.”

“I love you, too,” you put your hand over his, still on your cheek. “And I’ll show you that there’s still hope, everyday.”

With the flowers blooming in the spring wind, and the sun shining over you, your lips met. 


End file.
